new girl

You probably don’t know the bearded stud’s name on the left, but you might recognize him. Max Martini has appeared on both the big and small screen. Recently he saved Tom Hanks’ life in Captain Phillips and also appeared in Pacific Rim and Saving Private Ryan.

The 43-year-old actor is playing protector once again. He joins the Fifty Shades of Grey movie playing Christian Grey’s bodyguard. Cue “I’ll Always Love You.” Kevin Costner wishes he had Martini’s sex appeal. This guy is sex on a stick.

Fifty Shades of Grey begins filming in Vancouver next month. Recently, Universal and Focus revealed the movie was being pushed back to February 14, 2015. Happy kinky Valentine’s Day everyone.

With exception to scoring the half-time gig or playing in the Super Bowl itself, snagging the coveted timeslot after the big game is the next big thing. The network airing the annual event can either launch a new show or give a big promotional push to an existing one. Considering all the eyeballs that stay tuned in, a show can truly benefit from the exposure.

Last year, CBS used the huge platform to give then-freshmen series Elementary a helping hand. The detective drama netted 20.8 million viewers. The year before that, NBC used it to premiere the second season of The Voice to an impressive 37 million viewers. Before that, FOX gave the honor to Glee’s “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle” which scored 26.8 million eyeballs.

Other previous lead-out shows include Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 2006), Alias (ABC, 2003), Malcolm In The Middle (FOX, 2002) and Friends (NBC, 1996). The latter scored the biggest numbers in recent memory with over 52 million staying for a cup of coffee with the Central Perk gang. Find out this year’s lucky recipient below.

With September around the corner, the networks have begun promoting their Fall programs. FOX is going full throttle and just released preview clips for all their returning shows including Glee, The Mindy Project, New Girl and The X Factor which are the ones I’m looking forward to the most on the network.

Darren Criss takes the helm for his show’s vid. He talks about the show’s upcoming two episode tribute to the Beatles and his possible reunion with Kurt. As you recall, the season ended with a bit of a cliffhanger with Blaine holding a ring box in his hands.

Not surprisingly, Simon Cowell is front and center for The X Factor. With two lackluster seasons under his belt, a lot is riding on this year. If ratings continue to decline, this could very well be the show’s last. Hopefully, the chemistry between his “Angels” gel much better than his previous two judging lineups.

If you want your first look at James Franco on The Mindy Project, be sure to watch the show’s preview. For all you New Girl fans, Zooey Deschanel and crew tease which girl Schmidt picks. Check out all the videos below.

If you’re still depressed ABC canceled Happy Endings, here’s a consolation prize. One of the cast members has rebounded and booked a new gig. Damon Wayans Jr. is heading back to New Girl to reprise his role as Coach. Originally, he appeared in the pilot but had to leave the show when ABC picked up Happy Endings for a second season. Rather than recast the role, FOX chose to bring in Lamorne Morris to play a new character named Winston.

With Coach back, does this mean Winston is on his way out? Probably not, but Wayans Jr. is scheduled to return for six episodes with an option for more. With that being said, Coach will be heavily integrated with Winston’s storyline according to sources. Perhaps they’ll have a showdown for a spot in the loft.

Stoked about Damon returning to the FOX comedy? Do you secretly hope that Coach is back to replace Winston? Sound off below.

With Emmy nominations around the corner, it’s time for the critics to sift through all the networks’ offerings and pick the best of the best. The nominations for this year’s Television Critics Association Awards have been unveiled.

Leading the pack with a total of four nominations is FX’s The Americans. The drama starring Keri Russell about KGB spies nabbed Program of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Drama, Outstanding New Program and Individual Achievement in Drama nominations. Thanks to The Americans, FX was the top dog among networks with seven nominations. CBS, NBC and HBO follow with six apiece, and AMC picks up five nods.

“These were not easy choices for our 200-plus members,” TCA President Candace Havens says of the nominations. “The past TV season was filled with deserving people and programs, and these are the cream of the crop.”

Other dramas with multiple nods include Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and House of Cards. Top comedy honorees were Veep, The New Girl and Parks and Recreation. For all you lovers of vintage television, you might be interested to know that All In The Family, Star Trek, Twin Peaks, Saturday Night Live and Lost are all competing for the Heritage Award. Check out all the nominations below.

If you’re enjoying all the twists and turns on The Following, you’ll appreciate this bit of news. FOX renewed the freshman hit for a second season. The show started off strong and has held it’s audience week after week. When adding DVR playback, the serial killer thriller is averaging 11.7 million viewers and a 4.0 rating in the coveted demographic. Once again, The Following will air only 15 episodes instead of the usual 22-episode order most shows receive on the big networks. Shorter seasons are all the rage these days. Just look at the success of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad andSons of Anarchy over on basic cable.

I have to admit, I was worried the show wouldn’t be able to sustain the action and quality found in the pilot. Every Monday night, they have proven me wrong and continue to surprise me with new plot twists. Coincidentally enough, this past weekend a few friends of mine were discussing how much we love the show, specifically the “gay couple.” We all felt a little guilty for rooting for Nico Tortorella and Adan Canto’s characters. What sane person roots for serial killers? Apparently, if they’re cute… we do ;) Find out what other shows FOX gave renewal notices to below.

“Who’s that girl? (Who’s that girl?)” It’s not Jess (Zooey Deschanel) but rather Muriel Rosenberg. If you watch New Girl and wondered what the sitcom would be like without some hipster adorkable girl playing the lead, but rather a cranky senior citizen… wonder no more. New York sketch comedy group Paulilu produced a wonderfully charming parody of the hit FOX comedy with that very scenario.

Played by Helen Slayton-Hughes, the old version of Jess spews off age-appropriate pop culture references like silent film stars (Rudolph Valentino) or vintage mystery programs (Murder She Wrote). The Schmidt in the clip is bang-on with the mannerisms of original one on the show. Speaking of bang, the Schmidt in the Old Girl clip gets a bit of “schimdt” on a lucky girl’s face ;)

One of my favorite parts of the clip is when Muriel’s BFF Zelda who has bowel issues comes over. The visual of Zelda hurrying to the bathroom is hilarious. The funniest part of the clip is that I can actually see this being a sitcom. Quickly, network execs. Start working on development stat. Watch the Old Girl parody below.

Not only did American Idol dominate Nielsen ratings for several years, but it also raked in the most revenue with their ad rates. Last year, the FOX reality show narrowly lost the crown to NBC’sSunday Night Football when it came to asking prices for 30-second spot commercials. This year, the gap between the two shows has increased, and not in American Idol’s favor. According to Ad Age’s annual survey, American Idol’s Wednesday night rates have dropped to $340,825 from last year’s $502,900. Meanwhile, Sunday Night Football rose about $33,000 to $545,142 for each spot.

The biggest surprise in this year’s Top 10 Highest-Priced programs is the strong showing by comedies. Modern Family, New Girl, Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girlsand Two and a Half Men all broke into the Top 10. Shocked that Zooey Deschanel’s sitcom is among that group? While the New Girl doesn’t have the same overall viewers as its competitors, its concentration of young viewers is extremely high. As we all know, that demographic is very appealing to advertisers.

Surprisingly, NBC’s The Voice didn’t make the cut. That said, it does generate a hefty sum of cash for each 30-second commercial, $239,866 and $225,337 for Monday and Tuesday night repsectively. Amongst all the new shows, FOX’s midseason series The Followingreigns supreme with $194,425.